A Gift for Kasumi
by Dojo-ranma
Summary: Chapter 4 is Up! Please R&R. Christmas time at the Dojo and Kasumi summons the strength to ask Tofu out. What happens when she finds the good doctor engaged and no one but Ranma to turn to? Mayhem and fun ensues. RaKa Fic. First Fic. Enjoy!
1. Last Minute Rush

**A Gift for Kasumi**

**By DojoRanma**

**Chapter 1- Last Minute Rush**

"Finally! All done!" Akane said, wiping the sweat from her brow. She stepped back to marvel at her craftmanship.

Ranma opened the shoji door to the dojo, and immediately shielded his eyes as he stumbled back from the radioactive-green glow eminating from the Christmas tree and the decorations.

"Akane, I think you went a little overboard on the decorations. I mean, I know it's useful and all, but I don't think that they should glow in the light as well as the dark," he pointed out bluntly. "Well, it's better than last party's set up..."

"RANMA NO BAKA!" He was cut off by a hammer launching him into low orbit. Akane began to calm down as she stormed back into the dojo, slamming the shoji screen doors shut.

Ranma landed softly in a snow bank by the playground. Dusting himself off he began to walk towards the market. _Stupid Akane! Why doesn't she just leave well enough alone? Kasumi already decorated the walls and stage, why did she have to go and try to coordinate the tree and decorations her way? At least I didn't tell her that I'm glad she wasn't cooking this year. It could have been worse, I really don't want a Christmas dinner that looked like it was made at Chernobyl_. He chuckled at a thought. _How many Akanes does it take to screw in a lightbulb?_

He sighed. _Well, at least it gives me a chance to finish shopping for everyone he said to himself. I'm lucky I didn't have to loan from Nabiki this year, that fiasco was unbearable._ He remembered as images of last year's Christmas catastrophy played in his head. _This year it'll be different though...I hope. Working part time as a cook at Gizu restaurant over the last couple of months has been great. Luckily, only me an' Kasumi know about it, and I hope it stays that way. It has given me enough to pay my loans off from Nabiki, put some money away, and has given me some space from all my fiancees so I can clear my head._ He smiled. _Who'd a thought the Saotome secret final attack would work in real life? Run away until you can think of a better strategy._

Ranma rounded a corner and began to shuffle his way into downtown Nerima. His thoughts began to turn to the girls that he was 'engaged' to.

_Shampoo is a sweet girl, her antics really don't impress me though. And the whole Amazon law thing is driving me bananas. I mean, if she treated me like an actual person instead of a prize, she might've had a shot. She is very good looking, but I don't like the way she goes around throwing her weight around whenever and whereever she feels like._

_Ukyo is a totally different story all together. I've known her since I was like five years old, and I thought she was a guy. I mean, if I had known she was a girl to begin with it would've been a different story. She's a great friend, but I don't think I could love her like she wants me to. Her okonomiaki is amazingly good, but for how long? After a couple of years it'd be too repetitive and boring. And the fact that her and Shampoo fight even just for visiting rights with me, is getting a little frustrating._

_Kodachi... No way on Kami-sama's green earth would I be near her. She needs about 25 years of psychiatric help before anything could ever happen between us._

_Nabiki, the Ice Queen of Nerima, the most manipulative, sultry, and definatly one of the finest woman I have ever met. I just wish she would quit using me as her main source of income, and I know that she usually uses it for repairs and bills (she can never know that I know that), but it's a little frustrating knowing that my girl form is the centerfold in half the guys lockers at school, and the girls have your male form as their centerfold in their lockers. I we were to be...married, she'd turn the dojo into a martial arts franchise make millions and then sell it for even more money. I'm not too much into that, money is too unrealistic for me and it feels like a meaningless pursuit for a martial artist like myself._

Ranma glanced up for a moment and noticed he had made it to the downtown core of Nerima. He sat down on a bench for a moment so he could clear his mind.

_Akane._ He sighed, thinking about his fiancee. _After all this time, I'd figure she'd have shown some interest in me. I mean after all the suitors, all the close calls, the kidnappings, the near death experience, the battle with a god, and so on, could she show a little bit of kindness to her fiancee? Nope, that stupid mallet and that stupid temper of hers has become the bane of my existence every morning. And as much as I l.lo..care for her, she has no interest in me. I guess it's my fault that I can't be the person she wants me to be. I try so hard to not pick on her these past few months and she still treats me the same as when we fist met. I don't think it's worth it anymore._

He sat there for a few seconds, mentally listing off all the other girls that he knew, and discounted them just as quickly. He stood up and began walking through stores, looking for gifts for the last few people he had left on his list.

After about 3 hours or so, he sat down on the bench from earlier with several shopping bags in hand.

_Okay. I picked up the suit for tomorrow. I got a new abacus for Nabiki. For Ryoga, a compass. Akane, a new Gi. Shampoo, Mousse, Dr. Tofu, Mr. Tendo, Pops, Mom, Ucchan, did I forget anyone?_

His eyes bugged out as he remembered who he had missed, _Kasumi! I forgot Kasumi! What an idiot I am!_

He grabbed his bags and began running around trying to think of what to get Kasumi.

_What was I thinking? After all that she's done to help me this past year._ Panic began to set in, closing time was drawing near and he had to be back as a host for the Annual Christmas Party that Kasumi put on every year. _She's been the only 'real' friend I've had to count on and confide in. Just being in her presence makes me feel safe and I can talk with her without worrying about being judged. She's helped me grow as a person, instead of just a martial artist. I can't ever remember having a friend that cared like that._

He hadn't found anything, nothing that he could find that represented their friendship and how much it meant to him. There was still 20 minutes until the shops would close. I have to find something special. He thought as he stepped into another store. There!

_It's perfect!_ He thought cheerfully as he took the item to the clerk, _She'll love it_

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Meanwhile...

Kasumi was in the kitchen, preparing the turkey for tomorrow's festivities and tending to the soup for this evening's dinner, when she heard a familiar scream of "Ranma no Baka!" came echoing through the walls of the Tendo household. Kasumi glanced up to notice her youngest sister storm past the kitchen, dragging her mallet, and stomped up the stairs to her room.

_Oh, Akane!_ Kasumi thought sadly as she looked out the window to watch Ranma's vapor trail streaking the blue sky over Nerima. "Poor Ranma..." she sighed softly as she went back to cutting up vegetables to go with dinner. _He's tried so hard to be a better fiancee. It's such a shame that his efforts haven't been noticed by the one person he likes._

Kasumi continued chopping methodically as she thought back to the countless hours she had spent chatting and talking with Ranma. _He was doing so well too. _She thought, _He was even starting to make compliments. I just don't understand why Akane doesn't see it._

She set the knife down and walked over to the pot of broth and absently stirred it for a few seconds._ I hope this Christmas will be as good or better than the last one._ She thought cheerfully, recalling the wonderful party they had last year. _So much had happened since then. Toma, Kirin, the failed marriage, something about a fight with a god, and several other fiancees, suitors, etc._

_It's uncanny the chaos and calamity he attracts on a day to day basis._ She noted silently, _I wonder how much different things would be if I had been the one engaged to Ranma..._

"Oh My!" She immediately put her hand over her mouth politely as she began to blush, which didn't go unnoticed.

"What's wrong Kasumi?" Nabiki asked as she entered the kitchen.

Kasumi paused for a moment, her mind panicking while trying to keep a calm front showing. "Uhh... I realized I forgot to put salt in the Miso soup." She replied cheerfully, hoping that her sister would buy her alibi.

The middle Tendo daughter stared at her questioningly for a few moments, shrugged her shoulders, and went upstairs to go take care of today's earnings.

After Nabiki had vacated the room, Kasumi sighed in relief. _That's the last thing I need, is to be named as another fiancee to Ranma and be thrown into the mix with my sister, Shampoo, and all his other fiancees._

She finished the cooking she had been working on and went upstairs to her room._ I'll need dinner to cool a bit before I can make the rest. She removed her apron as she closed the door to her room, and set the apron neatly on the back of a chair._ She walked over to her closet and opened it. There were small packages strewn across the floor and on the shelves of the closet. Unlike the rest of her room, the closet wasn't tidy and neat like the rest of her room, but, since she didn't have too many outfits, there was plenty of space to hide the gifts. There was one gift on the top shelf that she was admiring, it was an sweater that she had made for Dr. Tofu, wrapped in blue and white snowflake wrapping paper with a big red ribbon to finish.

She smiled. _I know he should ask me first, but I'm tired of waiting for him to ask me out. So, I'll make the first move._ She glanced over the rest of the presents before closing the door to her closet. She picked up her apron and walked out of her room to go and began on the stuffing for the party.

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Later on...

Ranma finished wrapping and hiding the presents he had just bought. He slid the last present into the hiding spot and then carefully slipped out through the window, leaving no trace of his presence in the room.

He landed by the koi pond, and walked in past Genma and Soun, who were playing an intense game of Go.

"Do over! Come on Saotome, do over!"

Nope.

Ranma shook his head as he drifted toward the smell of food. He stepped into the kitchen.

"Hi Kasumi! I'm back." He called cheerfully. Kasumi turned around.

"I'm glad you're alright," she replied as she walked over to him, "Now get going, dinner will be on in a few minutes." As she nudged him out of the room.

"Aww... but Kasumi-chan..." Ranma pouted mockingly, "I came here to help..."

She giggled lightly, "But you're too late, Ranma. Everything's done."

"Oh, really?" he smirked, glaring at her. "Well, I was going to offer a backrub, but since you said everything's done, so I'll just head up to my room and..."

"Hey, that's not fair!" She cried out, "You cheated!"

He leaned up against the door frame, half smiling evilly, and folded his arms. "What are you going to do about it?"

Kasumi stared him in the eyes, "Maybe Akane would like to make you dinner?"

Ranma's eyes went wide. "Okay, okay, okay!" he admitted, "You win!" He moved over and gave her a quick shoulder rub, as 'punishment' for losing.

They chatted for a few minutes, talking about the set up for the party, and a few other things before dinner. After finishing the shoulder rub, they set the table and called the rest of the family to dinner.

Maybe this Christmas will be fun. Ranma thought to himself, smiling as he sat down at the table. Then he noticed a fuming Akane, radiating a dangerously red aura, and sending angry glances every so often his way. Okay... then again, maybe not.

Dinner went by rather quickly, Ranma and Genma were eating at their usual pace, stealing food off each other's plates. Other than that, the table was rather quiet as most of the table seemed like they were walking on eggshells around Akane as she sat there pushing the vegetables around on her plate with her chopsticks.

"I'm done," Ranma announced as he stood up with his plate. "Great job on dinner, Kasumi."

"Ranma!" Soun snapped angrily, "I want you to apologize to Akane this instant!"

"For what?"

"For whatever you did to make her upset."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tendo," Ranma said sympathetically. "But apologizing for a little constructive critizism on my part is not deemed appropriate. She blatently disregarded my opinion and considered it to be an attack on her abilities. In all fairness, I should be the one receiving an apology."

"FOR WHAT!" Akane screamed furiously, glaring into Ranma's unshifting eyes, while everyone else looked at him like he had just grown wings and antennae. "Being an arrogant, self-centered baka. How dare you belittle me? You've been nothing but a free-loader around here. Why don't you just go marry one of your other fiancees and get out of my life you stupid hentai!"

Ranma stared at her for a second, his expression blank and trying desperately not to let all hell break loose, as he clenched his fist to alleiviate his anger. He stood silently, everyone watching to see what his next move was going to be. He slowly unclenched his fist and sighed heavily. He turned around and began walking out of the room solemnly.

He stopped before he left, and turned, "Thanks again for dinner, Kasumi."

"You're welcome, Ranma." She smiled at the compliment.

He smiled, and walked out of the room.

Wahoo! My first story up and running! WooT! Please R&R. Thanks toDantemoon, Vash, Mindily, and jjjjj15 for prereading.I want to know what everyone thinks. I know it's past Christmas already, but I figure it's better late than never, ne? I will update very soon. Ja Ne!


	2. A Party Prelude

A Gift for Kasumi

By Dojo-Ranma

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Disclaimer- I don't make any money off this (though I wish I could) so just enjoy the story and don't sue me. 

Thank you to everyone who responded, here's chapter 2 for you.

_Thoughts_

Chinese

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Chapter 2 - A Party Prelude

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Dinner the night before finished quite solemnly. Ranma stomped outside and snuck off for the last night shift before the holidays. The rest of the family attempted to continue on normally. Akane removed herself from the table shortly after Ranma and could be heard screaming as sounds of breaking bricks echoed in the yard. Genma and Soun settled in for another round of Go, Nabiki sauntered over to the TV and flipped it to the business channel to check on her stocks, and Kasumi retired to the kitchen to clean up dinner.

Christmas Eve Morning...

Ranma awoke in a rather good mood. _This year will be different,_ He thought as he slid on his black slacks, _Everything will go well without any hitches, I hope..._

He shook the thought from his head, _There is no way that anything bad will happen, if it does..._ He looked down as his hand patted his left pocket, smiling, _I always have plan B_.

He grabbed his white chinese-style shirt with the gold ties and put it on. He reached up and ran his hand through his hair and flicked his pigtail off his shoulder. He turned around and walked downstairs.

He walked into the kitchen and was startled. A very girlly figure stood by the stove stirring a pot. Her back was facing him and she was humming cheerfully. This girl was dressed in a very flattering Santa-like coat with white faux fur and a simple white skirt that extended down just past her knees, the ensemble was completed with a Santa hat that made the whole outfit seem like the girl jumped right out of a magazine.

"Oh, Good morning Ranma," Kasumi said as she turned around and noticed Ranma standing in the doorway. Ranma's eyes bugged out as his jaw hit the floor, soon to be followed by the rest of his body. "What do you think of my outfit?" She asked coyly.

Ranma stood back up and walked over to Kasumi. She twirled around once showing the entire outfit to him. Ranma tapped his finger to his lips as inspected her attire, his expression was stern and straight faced.

"Hmmmm." He muttered as crouched down to examine the dress. He looked up at her face showing absolutely no expression.

"Kasumi, I have to be quite honest with you," Ranma stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes?" Kasumi inquired, beginning to sound a little nervous. 'What? What am I missing? Did I put something on wrong?' Her mind began freaking out.

"Kasumi, if you are deciding to wear this at the party tonight..."

"Yes?" Her voice slightly trembling with fear.

"...Then, you'd better save me a dance right now because I'm going to probably fight off about 20-30 guys just to get to you." He smiled slyly.

Kasumi blushed furiously, she was absolutely speechless by what he just said. She put her hand to cover her mouth politely, absolutely flabbergasted. 'Oh my! What do I say to that? I don't remember anyone paying me a compliment like that since... since ever. I mean I get compliments for dinner and such, but on my looks, never in my wildest dreams did I think someone would ever say something like that to me.' A tear slipped out past her guard and rolled down her cheek.

Seeing this, Ranma's cheerful smile dampered slightly, noticing the girl's emotional pain after his last statement. _Damn it! I made her cry_, he kicked himself mentally. He stood up and stepped towards her, his gaze not leaving her eyes. He reached up tentatively and touched her cheek gently with his hand. Her heart jumped slightly by the contact, like a spark sending a tingling sensation throughout her body. His thumb reached up and wiped the tear away.

"I'm sorry, Kasumi," he apologized as he removed his hand, "I shouldn't have said that." He stepped back.

Kasumi looked up at him, "Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you mean what you said?" She asked, feeling like an emotional wreck.

"Umm... yeah." Ranma replied, curious as to why she would ask such a question. He watched as Kasumi turned around and shut the stove burner off, and then dry her eyes with her apron. Kasumi then removed the apron and walked back towards him, mixed emotions swirling in her eyes, as she walked right up to him. 'Can I trust him with this? I know me and him have become friends since he returned from China, but can I tell him this? My personal life is something that I don't think I have ever talked with anyone about. Is this the right time for this?'

"Could I talk with you in private?" She asked nervously, as she lightly tugged on his arm trying to indicate the importance of this, "Please! I need to tell you something." He looked at her pleading eyes and immediately he stopped resisting.

"Okay." He replied reflexively as she pulled him out of the kitchen. _What is going on?_ Ranma thought bewilderedly, _Could it? No, she couldn't be... She wouldn't wouldn't want that, she couldn't! She's just my friend, I couldn't have her as anything more. She's been so nice to me, and she..._ His mind froze up.

_I can't believe I'm actually going to do this,_ she thought as they moved upstairs, _Can I really go through telling him this?_

She pulled him into her room and closed the door behind her. He stood in the center of her room looking at her. She leaned against the door, her head bowed so her mocha brown locks covered her eyes from view. She sighed, trying to put her thoughts into coherent words in her head.

"Kasumi," Ranma asked looking a little perplexed, "Why are we talking in your room?"

"Because it is the only room in the house that isn't bugged by Nabiki," Kasumi explained her head still bowed.

There was a brief pause, as each collected their thoughts together. Ranma was desperately trying to think of a way to talk her out of it without hurting her feelings. Kasumi was trying to summon up the courage to tell Ranma.

The silence was finally broken by Ranma inhaling and exhaling a deep breath and then asked her the question that played on his mind, "So... What did you want to talk to me about?" He tried to keep his voice from sounding nervous, but was a little scared by what she was going to say.

She lifted her head and looked directly at Ranma, wells of tears began forming in her eyes. "Oh Ranma!" She cried as she lunged at him.

Ranma was completely flat-footed, he had no chance to get out of the way as the twenty-two year old collided into him and knocked him into the ground. She grabbed at his shirt and wept into his shoulder, quickly leaving a damp mark on the white chinese silk.

Ranma, for his part, was absolutely stunned. He had been paralysed in place as he lay there feeling his fiancee's oldest sister lying on top of him crying into his shoulder. For some unknown reason, Ranma arms slowly and almost reflexively reached up and placed one arm on her back and the other ran its fingers through her hair soothingly.

Everything she felt, hidden away over twelve years, came out in one flood of emotion as all of the emotional barriers were crushed in an instant. All the fear, the anger, the sadness, and frustration poured out of her. All of it being replaced by the comfort of her only real friend she had since she was in school, making her feel safe and not so alone. They had spent so much time together since he returned from China, he was always so helpful and the small chit-chat was a little breather from all the chaos that went on everyday.

_How long has it been since she last cried like that?_ Ranma thought to himself, _Has she EVER cried like that?_

They remained like that for a little while, Kasumi's sobs began to disappate and she relaxed in his embrace. Finally, she sat up her, legs bent up over Ranma's, and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes as Ranma sat up.

"So, was there anything else you needed to talk to me about?" Ranma asked with a little smirk, trying in his own way to lighten the mood. Kasumi smiled genuinely at Ranma.

"I'm just really worried about the party tonight." She replied.

"Kasumi, you have nothing to worry about. It's going to be terrific, you've done a wonderful job with the party the past few years and this year won't be any different. Trust me." He winked slyly, "And if something does, I beat up anyone who complains." As he smacked his fist into his palm.

Kasumi giggled at that, then she got a little more serious. "That wasn't what I meant Ranma."

"Then what?"

"I'm planning to ask Dr. Tofu out at the party tonight."

"Really?" Ranma asked, surprised by the startling confession.

"Yeah, I know it's a little silly but I really like him, I just feel that he'll never ask me out. He acts really silly sometimes."

Ranma fell over backwards. _Oh boy!_ he mentally groaned. He sat back up, "Don't worry Kasumi. I know things'll go well for you."

"Do you really think so Ranma?" She asked glumly, "I'm scared he'll say no."

"Kasumi Tendo," Ranma stared in disbelief, "You keep this up and he will."

Kasumi looked at him, seriously wondering who this Ranma was and what happened to the normal Ranma. He was acting way to different to be him.

"Now, Kasumi. I think we should go downstairs and get breakfast out cause I'm almost sure it's cold now."

"But I'm so comfortable here," she said dreamily as she leaned her body into Ranma and pushed him back on to the floor and pretended to fall asleep on his chest.

"Kasumi, what happens if Akane wakes up and finds no one in the kitchen?"

Kasumi bolted upright, wideeyed, and was gone before Ranma could blink. Ranma lay his head back down on the floor and smirked. _This is going to be a good Christmas._

"RraannMMAA!" Akane growled, "What are you doing in my SISTER'S ROOM!" As she malleted him into the ground and stormed off.

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End Chapter 2

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Wow! Thanks to everyone for reading. Please R&R if you have any questions, comments or concerns. I love to hear from you guys (and girls). I would love some more prereaders, if anyone is interested. 


	3. A Christmas in Ruins

**A Gift for Kasumi**

**By Dojo-Ranma**

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Thanks to everyone who has read it this far, I'm hoping to keep up the pace but, not sure right now. Thanks to my prereaders (you know who you are) and everyone who took the time to review my story, it means alot. Thanks and Enjoy Chapter 3.

Panda Signs+

_Thoughts_

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Chapter 3 - A Christmas in Ruins

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Christmas Eve...

Evening rolled around and everyone began to show up, Ryoga showed up first amazingly enough, followed by Shampoo and Mousse, Ukyo, the Kuno siblings, and the rest to follow.

The Tendos and Saotomes worked vigorously to get everything finished in time. Nabiki was in her room trying desperately to calculate the expenses for the party and trying to work it into the budget, Kasumi was preparing dinner, Genma and Soun spent their time desperately trying to salvage Akane's messed up decorating scheme, Akane was keeping an eye on the guests and Ranma was sent to go pick up some last minute groceries for Kasumi.

It didn't take long for chaos to be unleashed as Kuno, Mousse, and Ryoga all began trying to tear each other apart as they fought in the yard. The girls spent their time argueing over which present Ranma will like the best, and which of them was going to receive a present from him.

Ranma returned with the last of the ingredients needed for dinner. He noticed the three guys in the backyard, quarrelling amungst themselves. He shook his head in disgust and walked inside. He could hear the war raging between the girls and put one hand to his head. 'Not again!' was all he could think as he removed his shoes and headed for the kitchen.

"Hear you go, Kasumi," he announced as he stepped into the kitchen with the bag of groceries.

"Thank you, Ranma." She replied cheerfully, "If you get a chance, I could use a couple of extra hands to finish dinner, please?"

"Okay, Kasumi. I'll get a couple of the girls to help. But right now, I'm going to take care of a little pest problem out back." And with that he walked out on to the back porch.

"Hey guys!" He shouted at the brawling boys. They didn't bother to notice Ranma as a spear-tipped chain came whipping across the yard directly at him. Ranma deftly caught the chain before it was able to enter the house, and pulled Mousse across the yard to him. Ryoga and Kuno dumbly followed as the duck boy was pulled across the yard toward Ranma. The boy bounced twice and stopped two feet from the porch. The other two ran up furious and stopped right by Mousse.

"What is the meaning of this, foul sorcerer?" Kuno demanded angrily.

"Yeah. What do you think you are doing?" Ryoga agreed.

Ranma's eye twitched slightly, "You all were invited here as guests. Now, if you think that it's appropriate to destroy the residence of your hosts, I would suggest that you leave now. If you'd prefer to stay for the party, I'd suggest behaving."

The three boys looked at one another guiltily. "Hai," the three responded in unison rather shamefully.

"Good," Ranma stated, "The only fighting that will be allowed is snowball fighting. No martial arts, no other weapons. Okay? And, don't worry, the party will be starting shortly." With that Ranma went back inside the house. The three boys looked at Ranma's retreating form, then at each other, and then began running around picking up snowballs, hurling them at one another.

Ranma walked through the dining area, still hearing the girls bickering upstairs. He shook his head as he walked towards the staircase and made his way up to Akane's room where the girls were staying at until the party. He rapped on the door politely and then called through.

"Excuse me ladies, but Kasumi would like some help getting the last few preparations made for the party if you could help out." He turned and walked downstairs.

All the guests had finally arrived and the celebration began. The girls did Karaoke (including Ranma-chan again!), individuals from the nerima crew did performances during dinner, there were tables for blackjack and other card games, and all sorts of activities going on.

For the most part, things were going very well. Well, that was until the moment that Ranma feared over the past few years, the moment when Nabiki walked up on stage to announce the gift exchange. The girls were expecting this and began looking around frantically for Ranma, all wanting to get the jump on the other competitors. He was nowhere to be found. The girls were just about to leave when a Panda with reindeer antlers on its head and a tall man in a Santa suit with a red sack rode across the stage. The girls groaned, Soun and Genma were at it again!

"HO! HO! HO! Merry Christmas one and all!" The Santa called trying to disguise his voice, "I have travelled all the way from the North Pole to deliver some gifts to some very special children!"

"Didn't they try this once before?" Ukyo whispered to Shampoo, who could only nod in agreement.

The Santa reached into his sack and pulled out the first package. He looked at the tag and called out, "Nabiki Tendo!"

The girls were stunned, it wasn't a big setup for a marriage between Ranma and Akane. Yet, anyway, but they were on guard just in case.

Nabiki accepted the present as the Santa reached in and pulled out another gift, "Ukyo Kuonji!"

Ukyo was surprised but went up to get her present nonetheless. She made her way to the front and received her gift. There was a tag with her name on it and nothing else. She was a little worried opening it until she noticed Nabiki jump up and down and hug the Santa in excitement with her new ornate abacus that she had received. Ukyo ripped open her present to find a small silver spatula with a padded red velvet grip on the handle.

She looked up at the Santa, tears ready to burst from her eyes, and asked in defiance, "Who got this for me!"

The Santa looked at her, "That's why it's called a 'Secret Santa' gift, my dear."

She paused thanked him and turned to walk off as he called Shampoo's name, followed by Ryoga, Mousse, Akane, even Happosai and Cologne. Unfortunately, Ranma wasn't there to accept his gift and Kasumi's name wasn't mentioned either.

All the recipients ripped open the wrapping paper and seeing what their 'Secret Santa' got them. The Santa and Panda slipped off stage, while everyone was in awe of their new gifts, and everyone else pondered who could have gotten them those gifts.

Backstage, the Santa handed the "gift" for Ranma to the Panda. "Here ya go, Pops," as Ranma pulled his beard off, "That's for you and Mr. Tendo. Enjoy."

Genma bear-hugged his son and opened the package. Inside, was a new Go board with glass and onyx stones. The Panda held up a sign +Thank you, Son+ and went skipping off to go find Soun, who had gone to go use the washrooms a few minutes earlier. 'Now to go find Kasumi and Tofu, get out of this costume, and get out of here.' Ranma thought as he slipped out the side door, making sure no one saw.

Kasumi watched Santa hand out all the gifts and could only smile. 'How thoughtful.' She thought, as the Santa handed out the last present was handed out and everyone resumed exchanging gifts. She began looking around for Dr. Tofu, her gift for him in hand, as she meandered through the crowds of people trying to locate him.

She noticed him standing by the Christmas Tree dressed rather nicely. She summoned up all her courage and walked up to him. He noticed her as she approached.

"Merry Christmas, Kasumi." He greeted contentedly, "You look very much in the spirit of things, this year"

"Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you too, Tofu-ono." She bowed respectfully. 'There's something different about him tonight.' She looked at him again, his eyes seemed much clearer to her tonight than in previous encounters.

"Wonderful party your family put together, and dinner was delicious."

"Arigato," she replied, blushing slightly. She steeled herself as she attempted to break the ice. "Th-this is for you." She said as she held out the gift she had found for him.

He opened the box and found a new stethescope laying in amungst the white tissue paper.

"Arigato," he replied still looking at the medical instrument.

"Umm... I also wanted to ask you something..." Kasumi said as she scratched the back of her calf with her other foot

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you if..."

"Tofu dear..." A blond haired girl called as she walked up to him, "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?"

"Oh, no. Not at all," Dr. Tofu responded, "I was just thanking Kasumi here for a lovely party and for the lovely gift."

"Oh," the girl said as she turned to Kasumi, "I'm sorry. My name's Akira Motosuki, I'm Dr. Tofu's fiancee."

Kasumi stepped back to catch herself, 'No. I must not have heard that right.'

Tofu took a step forward, "Kasumi, I'm sorry. I was meaning to tell you. I became engaged last week, I just never got around to..."

Kasumi turned on her heels and ran out of the dojo, tears streaming down her face. Her hair whipped about behind her as her Santa hat fell off as she tore through the crowds and out the door.

Dr. Tofu just stood there as he watched her leave, his heart sinking down into the pit of his stomach.

Ranma ahd made it all the way back to the house without being caught yet. 'So far, so good!' As he stepped into his room to get changed, he heard footsteps running through the house. He ducked into a dark area of his room, and hoped no one would find him. He heard the footsteps and as the footsteps got closer he could hear something else. Crying.

He stepped out of the shadows and looked outside the door to notice Kasumi opening and closing her bedroom door.

'This is bad. Real bad.'

* * *

End Chapter 3 


	4. Broken Hearts of Angels

**A Gift for Kasumi**

**By Dojo-Ranma**

Disclaimer - I don't own this series, nor do I make profits from this (as much as I wish it did)

Thanks to everyone who preread for me (you know who you are) and everyone who continually keeps reading to this and the ones who review, cause lets face it, I don't know if you love it or hate it until you review for me. So thanks to you guys and keep it up. Enjoy Chapter 4!

* * *

Chapter 4 - Broken Hearts of Angels

* * *

Ranma stood there, his feet strapped a couple of pieces of lumber, making him seem about as tall as Soun. He walked out the door of his room. He made his way down the hallway to Kasumi's room. He knocked on the door politely. 

"Go away please!" She cried from inside the room.

"It's me, Ranma." He answered as he slowly opened the door being very cautious, "Can I come in?"

Kasumi pulled her head up out of her pillow and looked at the door, her face streaked with tears that just flowed down her face. She only nodded before placing her head in her hands and cried more.

"Kasumi, what happened?" Ranma asked, rather concerned at this time as this had been only the second time he had ever seen her cry. He took a step forward, only to partially lose balance on his makeshift stilts. He teetered forward and then backward, his arms swimming wildly in the air. Kasumi looked up to notice the boy standing on one foot, his arms spinning around and a look of panic on his face. He finally lost his balance as he fell over backwards, and landed with a loud thud on his back.

Kasumi couldn't help but laugh through the tears, the whole situation was so funny. She wiped away a few tears and sniffled.

She giggled meekly as she admired his dishevled outfit. A pair of stuffed red pants, black boots with wooden feet, a santa coat loosely draped over his body and a fake white beard strung around his neck. His normal black pants could be seen under the red santa pants and he wore his usual white undershirt

He reached down and untied the makeshift straps that held his stilts to his feet, all the while grumbling about the wood not being square.

He tossed the stilts and boots aside as Kasumi knelt beside him. He sighed as he looked out the window, noticing the stunning night sky. "Kasumi, what happened to you?"

She slipped back slightly, not wanting to recall the incident that crushed her heart. But the pain inside swelled up as the memories flooded back to the forefront of her thoughts.

"After you left the stage, I began to search for Dr. Tofu to give him his present and ask him out. I finally found him standing by the Christmas tree near the stage. I walk up to him and handed him my gift for him."

"And then what happened?"

"I was about to ask him out when his... sniff when his fiancee showed up."

"His WHAT!" Ranma stared in disbelief.

"His fiancee," Kasumi responded, the tears began welling up again. "Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY? WHY! WHY ME!" Shaking her head as she spoke.

She fell forward and began crying into his chest, her sobs grew louder as her hands gripped his shirt and tears poured out of her on to his undershirt. All he could do was gently enfold her body in his arms, as he could feel her warm breath and tears. She trembled in his embrace and wept like a lost soul.

Ranma stared blankly in total shock, the man who was head over heels for this girl, threw her aside like an old dish rag. He scratched his head as he tried to say something to help her out.

"Umm... You want me to go beat him into a pulp?" He asked, half jokingly.

Kasumi laughed through the tears again at Ranma's attempts to cheer her up. "Thank you, Ranma, but I'll decline. I'm sure he's got his reasons." She tried as hard as she could to muscle a smile through all the sadness, her attempt failed miserably resulting in another fit of tears.

"Anyway, don't worry about me." She continued after a couple of minutes, "I just need a few minutes to straighten myself up. Please, go and enjoy the party."

"I don't think so Kasumi," Ranma shook his head sadly, "I'm not going to go enjoy a party when someone needs me. There ain't no way I'm leaving you like this. I'd rather fight Saffron, Happosai, Cologne, and every other opponent, demon, and ghost I've ever encountered at once than walk away right now."

"Ranma, I'm fine. Really! I'll be okay." She tried to convince him.

"Are you going to be fine at a party with him there right now?" He asked, staring into her eyes.

Her face saddened and her head bowed. "No. I guess I can't."

"That's what I thought," Ranma replied solemnly. He stepped forward and gave her a small comforting hug, and then stepped back.

There was a deadly silence in the room. Neither person spoke as they stood there, unsure what to say next. What could they say? What could they do? The party continued downstairs, and there wasn't much they could do. Was there?

"Well," Ranma broke the silence contemplating the situation, "I guess we could resort to Plan B..."

"And what is Plan B, Ranma?" Kasumi asked inquisitively, pondering what the pigtailed martial artist could have planned.

Ranma fished into his black pants and pulled out two pieces of paper. "This was in case the party went sour, or I got tired of dealing with the fiancee brigade and company at the party. I kind of expected someone to join me, just never thought it'd be you."

"Joining you where?"

"I was going to visit my mom for the remainder of Christmas... If you would like to join me. I'd love the company and I know my mom would too. And you could have some time away from all this to think."

Kasumi thought about it for a moment and smiled, "Sure." She smiled weakly. "I'll leave a note in the kitchen for everyone."

Ranma smiled, and began to collect his things off the floor. "Don't mention where you are going and that I am going with you, or else my loving fiancees will follow us." He warned.

"Hai. I won't."

"Good. The last thing I want is to have half of Nerima chasing me all the way to Kyushu."

Ranma made his way out of the room and back to his room. He dropped the suit in a pile and removed the rest of his outfit. He grabbed his Santa hat, placed it on his head, and picked up the red sack that had held the presents earlier, still holding a gift or two inside. _I'll save giving her present to her till later. _He thought as he stepped out into the hall and closed the door._ She's been through enough as it is._

He walked down the hallway and made his way downstairs. He shuffled over to the front door and stepped into his black Chinese shoes. He turned around to notice Kasumi walking down the stairs with a piece of paper in one hand, a medium sized hand bag and a shopping bag with a few packages inside in the other. Her eyes still looked sore and full of sorrow.

"I'll be right back," She said waving the piece of paper as she walked past the front door to the kitchen, trying to muster a smile. Ranma glanced out the door, checking for any wandering guests out front. The last thing he needed was someone like Kuno or Ryoga catching them sneaking off, or worse, Akane. He shivered mentally at the results of THAT confrontation.

* * *

_Dammit! How the hell am I supposed to make this party profitable if my cashcow has disappeared, _wondered Nabiki as she covertly searched for her favorite hunk _Of cash! _She smiled evilly. 

"Where the hell is that baka!" Akane loudly searched around the hall looking for her fiancee. "How DARE he ditch out on me!" _I bet he's with off with one of his fiancee's or some girl. I'm gonna pound him when I find him._

The entire room stared at the mallet-wielding girl.

Tofu looked around the room forlornly, Kasumi had not returned. _I'll go find her and explain. I just couldn't be man enough and tell my mother no. I love Kasumi so much, but how could I tell my mother that? I have a girl I like but I can't even have a normal conversation with her cause I turn into a ravinglunatic that dances with a skeleton. That'd work... _He rolled his eyes at his own sarcasm.

"Tofu, come dance with me," his fiancee, Akira, said, pulling him out of his daze and onto the dance floor.

"I-I'm really n-not that good at dancing," Tofu spluttered as he tried to excuse himself out of the situation.

"Come now, I've seen you dance with Betty several times now, don't be so modest," she replied back sweetly.

Tofu resolution crumbled and resigned to finding Kasumi later. _I'll fix everything Kasumi. Don't worry._

Suddenly the tree exploded, everyone looked to see a purple haired amazon standing there with her new bonbori looking through the carnage she just created. "Airen?" She asked quizzically.

Coughcoughugh "Nope," replied the tree.

"TSUBASA! DIE!" Screamed Ukyo, running at the tree with her spatula. The mutilated tree jumped up and ran out the back door and over the wall with the okonomiyaki chef hot on his heels.

_Well, I guess it's time to resort to plan B,_ thought Nabiki, as she lost interest in searching for Ranma. "Oh Kuno-baby!" She called as she walked over to go and earn herself a little Christmas bonus.

* * *

Ryoga stopped and looked around, he was on the 768th step of a set of stairs leading up to what he could now see being a large temple. _Dammit! This isn't the dojo either! All I did was go up the stairs to the bathroom and now...now..._ "Where on Earth am I NOW!" 

"RANMA, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAAAAUULL...!" He screamed as he took another step and slipped, rolling back down the stairs he had just climbed up.

* * *

Kasumi came out to the front entrance. _Man, she still looks so depressed._ He thought as she set her bags down and slipped on her shoes. 

"Hey Kasumi."

"Yes, Ranma?"

"Here's your ticket." He said as he handed her the ticket stub for the train.

"Thank you." She said, still a bit dejected about the situation. She stood up and began opening the door.

"Hey Kasumi."

"Yes?" She replied, as she stopped and turned to see what Ranma needed.

He smiled as he looked above the door, "Merry Christmas." As he leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Oh my!" Were the only words that she could think to say. Ranma Saotome, one of the greatest martial artists in the world, owner of several engagements to various women that he doesn't want, had half the females in Japan pining after him, and who happened to change into a girl on occasion, had just kissed her.

_That's the sweetest thing that anyone has ever done._ She thought

Kasumi's hand flew to her cheek as her cheek radiated warmth and she smiled shyly. Noticing Ranma's gaze, she looked up to notice a sprig of mistletoe, hanging strategically above the door.

"I don't remember that being there..." She mused absently.

"I saw our father's put that up there as one of their little traps they had set up to trick me and Akane this morning."

"Oh?"

"There was actually about 385 sprigs of the stuff around the house. I took down all but two of them. Just so they wouldn't complain.But anyway, we should get moving before we are spotted." He said quickly surveying the area before settling down.

Ranma picked up her gifts and set them within the red Santa bag, then handed her her handbag, and finally slung the Santa bag over his shoulder with one arm. He turned around to face Kasumi after they stepped out the door.

"One last thing before we go."

"What's that?"

"I think you need this more than I do." With that he reached up with his free hand and pulled off his Santa hat and placed it on her head. The warmth the hat radiated was deliciously wonderful. She smiled genuinely at his kind gesture, noticing her ensemble was complete once more.

"There you are," he smiled widly, "Good to have you back, Kasumi."

She blushed at his remark, though not quitesure why. In slight embarassment, she gently pushed Ranma, catching him completely off guard. He landed in the snow bank on his rump, as Kasumi retreated toward the gate, giggling. Ranma got up, noticing his pants were now wet and cold, growled playfully at her. Kasumi eeped and turned tail and ran for the gate, Ranma hot on her heels.

"Let's go, Ranma." She taunted gaily. And with that, theymade their way away from the Tendo compound and out into the white wonderland of winter.

* * *

End Chapter 4

* * *


	5. Of Mallets, Pipes and Parties

**A Gift for Kasumi**

By DojoRanma

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Of Mallets, Pipes and Parties**

* * *

Akane searched through the darkened house, searching for Ranma. _Damn! Where is he? I was hoping to give him his gift while the rest of the girls were eating, singing kareoke, and doing other stuff in the dojo.  
_  
She searched through the living room and then peered into the kitchen. _That's strange. I haven't seen Kasumi either._

Then she remembered meeting Tofu's new fiancee. _I wonder if she's alright?_ she pondered as her search moved up to the second floor, looking for either her loving sister or her ill-treated boyfriend. Looking through her sister's room, noting the absence of her sister, her thoughts turned back to Ranma and his treatment of late.

_It's not that I'm really upset about the wedding or at him, but I can't let anyone know that I like him, or the parent's will have the priest at the door in a flash._ She tried to tell him of her reasons for the beatings of late, that it was just for show. But every time she tried to, one of his other fiancees or rivals shows up and she ended up malleting him for his unwillingness to tell them off. _I know he's strong, he killed Saffron to save me. So, why can't he just admit to me that he loves me? Why can't I? _Her face saddened as her search was beginning to be fruitless as she searched the last room on the floor.

"Where are they?" She asked herself again as she peered out the window. Then she noticed two figures outside the front door that she recognized to be the two people she had been searching for. Then she noticed her sister turn around and run towards the gate, followed by Ranma who was chasing her. From her vantage point, Akane had not seen the snowballs due to the amount of snow falling and was forced to jump to the conclusion, "RANMA NO BAKA!" as she turned and ran to find her shoes and coat.

* * *

10 minutes later...

Kasumi and Ranma walked in silence through the streets of Nerima, their snow fight finished and forgotten. Snow blanketed everything around them, bringing a seemingly serene peace to the world. The endless white covering the land over, a surprising contrast to the clear night sky. The air seemed crisp and sharp on their breath as they continued towards the train station.

Kasumi held her bag with both hands draped in front of her body, and although she walked tall, her head was slightly bowed and was taking small, pointed steps to avoid getting snow in her shoes. Ranma walked next to her, his hands in his pockets. His backpack was slung over one shoulder and he was hunched forward slightly.

_Man I am so dead if anyone finds us,_ Ranma thought to himself, _maybe I should've just walked away by myself._ He looked up at Kasumi. _No way! I'd take the tanto blade over leaving her to suffer.  
_  
Kasumi turned her head to look at him, blushing slightly at his gazing. He smiled gently before turning his gaze back to the road ahead. Kasumi however, her heart skipped a beat.

_Why was he looking at me like that? Like I was actually worth looking at? I'm not that pretty, I'm very homely. Look at me, I'm a housewife that's unmarried looking after my father, my two sisters, and two guests. No wonder Tofu-sensei didn't choose me. I feel like such a fool for believing anything could come of it.  
_  
Her head drooped a little lower, though however slight it had been, it had not gone unnoticed by the pigtailed martial artist. He watched as her emotions had dropped lower and lower, she was starting to take the mood of Ryouga. (Wait! That's impossible for anyone to get THAT low), It wasn't that low, but being that the person in question was Kasumi, it was enough to be a serious concern.

_I need to do something, she must be thinking about what happened with Tofu earlier. Ranma thought, I've got to do something! Say something!_

"Ummmm," Ranma struggled in his efforts to put his thoughts together into a coherent sentence.

"Yes, Ranma?" Kasumi turned her head, after placing her mask of happiness firmly over her face. This did not go unnoticed.

Ranma had stopped his gait. Kasumi stopped a few steps past, turning her whole body to face Ranma.

"Kasumi, I-"

"What, Ranma?" She smiled, the mask becoming as visible as night and day.

"Stop it."

"What do you mean?" She asked, confusion spreading over her features.

"Stop trying to hide yourself," he spoke monotonely, "I can see right through your facade. Who are you trying to fool? It's only me. You can trust me right?" His face becoming more concerned, "Right?"

Kasumi looked up at him, the mask crumbling under his words and the soft tears that began to flow from her gentle eyes. "Ra-"

"RANMA!"

The two turned around to see Akane standing there holding her mallet. Her aura burning a bright red. Akane turned her focus from Ranma to her sister. Upon seeing her sister with tears in her eyes, her aura got darker a deep blood red with black tinges around the edges.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER, YOU BASTARD!"

Ranma panicked as Akane lunged forward towards him, Kasumi would get injured if he didn't get her out of the way. He turned and launched himself at Kasumi, sweeping her up and jumping up towards the rooftops.

Akane reacting to Ranma's movements, launched her mallet end over end at Ranma instead of an overhead smash into the ground.

Unfortunately, Ranma did not see this nor was he able to react in time before it connected. It impacted at the apex of his jump, knocking him further into the air. The mallet connected with his ankle, just below the knee. It snapped his leg inward and shattered his knee, his only saving grace being his other leg prevented any further damage. The force of the mallet knocked Ranma sideways. He had no control over his movements as he spiraled sideways still clutching Kasumi's lithe body.

Kasumi meanwhile, not being used to being launched into the air, flying over the rooftops, and being afraid of moving at such speeds, promptly fainted towards the climax of the jump.

Impact was imminent for Ranma, it was unavoidable with his ankle. His hope was just to keep Kasumi from getting hurt. He twisted around as they impacted the roof of the house three blocks over. He landed back first on the terracotta shingles, several breaking under the impact. They rolled down the snowy roof and fell off. Again he managed to twist his body to let him take the brunt of the fall.

_God that hurts!_ he thought as he tried to sit up and see past the mass of soft brown locks stuck to his face. _Dr. Tofu's going to have a field day with this mess._

His back cracked with every movement as he sat up. Sweeping the hair out of his face, he gazed down at Kasumi. Her hair was matted down and covered in snow. He reached out and brushed her hair away from her own, framing her face just beautifully. The light flecks of snow made her seem absolutely angelic.

Ranma finally pulled himself away from his gaze after a few seconds. The pain in his ankle was bad. He looked around desperately for something he could use as a splint. He saw a three foot length of pipe about ten feet from where he was. Bracing Kasumi up against the wall he dragged himself across the ground using his arms and one good leg. He grabbed the piece, once he was in reach and began to shed his jacket and shirt while using the wall to brace himself. He then placed the makeshift splint against his leg and proceeded to rip apart his white undershirt. He used the strips of cloth to bind the temporary splint to his leg. He then slowly began to get up, using the wall as a bracer. He got up and hobbled to where he left the sleeping maiden. Gently scooping her up in his arms, he began to carry her out towards the property gate and the train station.

* * *

Cutting over to Akane... 

Akane had just watched herself kill her fiancee and eldest sister in slow motion. Her body refused to move, her mind just kept replaying the incident. The mallet throw, the VERY audible crack as it impacted them, the frame by frame descent of Kasumi and Ranma both with pained expressions on their faces, and then the sound of a large mass crashing into the roof of a building.

Over and over again, her mind shorted, her thoughts on the two victims of her latest assault. 'Why?' the stray thought ran through her short-circuiting mind. 'Why did he try to run? Why was Kasumi upset? Why did I throw that mallet at them? Why did I jump to conclusions again?'

Slowly her mind slipped into a depression that only one other person felt (and if you need to ask who, you'd better rewatch the series-DR). The questions kept pouring out and she had no answer for any. 'Was Kasumi really crying? Are they still alive? What am I going to tell everyone when they find out I've killed them?' The questions haunted her so that she didn't even notice her feet moving lethagically towards the train station, her face listless and pale.

'What do I do?'

* * *

Back at the Dojo... 

The party had become rowdy and noisy after Soun and Genma broke out the Sake.

Weird pairings had begun to take shape on the dance floor. A dolled up purple cat and a duck in a penguin suit (ahem tux) were dancing on the floor, Kuno and Konatsu were hitting it off, as were Ryoga and Tsubasa. The only thing more scarier was Kodachi and Asusa singing Kareoke together. No one ever thought they were good, until they started singing. Cologne and Happosai were dancing slowly, while Tofu and Akira were also dancing. Correction, Akira was dancing and Tofu was frantically attempting to search for Kasumi while failing to dance properly with Akira.

Ukyo was drunkly hitting on Shinnosuke, the Gambling King was down to his heartshaped boxers while Nabiki looked on like a cheshire cat. "Would you like to play again?" Embarassing him yet again. Miss Hinako and Principal Kuno were laughing gaily at a table. And Genma and Soun were already passed out, lying in a heap. The only thing proving that they were somewhat coherent before that was a badly scribbled sign next to Genma-panda:

Where is the boy+

* * *

End Chapter 5

* * *

Finally, after being frozen in carbonite, I am back with Chapter 5. Hopefully I will be able to get chapter 6 done soon, but don't be surprised if I turn into a cardboard cutout again. And just two notes I should mention. 1) This does take place after saffron, I just changed it that Akane was still unconscious when Ranma told her he loved her and she responded subconsciously, and 2) I know those are weird pairings I created, I plan to make things very... ahem interesting for the entire NWC. I've already started on Chapter 6 so I hope everyone R&Rs for me, I love suggestions and comments, it always improves the final result (in my opinion) Anyway, Thanks again to my prereaders Mindily and Loverdante for whom I would be lost without. Lastly, a little preview for next chapter, there will be more party hijinx, 'train'ing blues, and a meeting with the mother. Enjoy! 


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